Love And Let Go
by xlovestory
Summary: When Troy realises he no longer loves Gabriella, he hates himself forleading her to believe he still does. He knows he has to tell her, but when he does, how will she react? And will the saying 'if you love me, you'll let me go' really have some truth?
1. I Love You

_Just a three shot I'm trying out. I got the idea, and thought I'd use it, so tell me what you think please. Anyways, enjoy…_

**Love And Let Go.**

**Part 1 - I Love You.**

Troy watched as her figure moved, the sheet around her crumpling and sliding down her sleek form. Her hair, tired and messy, but still slightly tied up, relaxed onto the nape of her neck, bouncing gently as she moved. Her hands moved to the top of the covers, hauling them up to cover more of her naked body and she walked over to the large bay windows in her room. She looked like an angel. Beautiful, sweet, sexy, and charming. And it broke his heart that he would break her's soon.

He heard her sigh, her arms wrapping around her body, trying to keep heat. The rain falling sharply from the sky battered the window panes, the teardrops spilling over the sides of the ledges. Watching, he saw her take one finger and trail it down the window, all the way to the bottom, where she fell softly to her knees, wrapping the sheet around her feet, all the while staring at the rain.

It had been a special day, one filled with love; filled with happiness. They had been together for two years. Amazing years. And yesterday had been their two year anniversary. They had made love, something that had always been sacred to them, showing their love for each other. But for Troy, he could only show the love he could muster up. For not all his heart was hooked on Gabriella. She was oblivious.

From his unmoving position on her bed, wrapped up tightly in sheets and his body thrown in any direction, she saw her head begin to move. He quickly shut his eyes, a look of peace he'd practiced many a time taking over his facial features, and he hoped she was happy. He'd never want her to be sad. He dreaded the day he would make her world collapse. And he hated himself for not loving her in the way he used to. Loving Gabriella had once been the easiest thing in the world. He'd explained this to his brother a few weeks before…

_"Dude, you look like crap."_

_He looked up from his position, lying on the basketball court, to find his brother, 2 years older than him, looking down on him. He lifted himself up so he was sitting and found his brother stretching beside him._

_"Thanks. Just got a lot on my mind."_

_His brother, Jake, looked up at him, worry lurking in his bright blue eyes, a family trait. Jake crossed his legs over and sighed. "Want to talk about it?"_

_Troy shifted his weight from one knee to the other, sighing deeply. Jake knew this was big. He'd never seen his little brother so stressed about something before. Troy lifted his head and fiddled with his fingers._

_"Jake, how do you feel when you're with Melissa?"_

_Jake and Melissa were both 19. They had known each other over all their school years, starting out as best friends. When they had hit their teenage years, eventually they had fallen in love with each other and had gotten together. It had been 3 years since then._

_Troy watched as a cheesy smile spread onto his brothers face at the sound of his love's name. His stomach clenched. He wanted to do that again._

_"Bro, when I'm with Melissa, I'm on top of the world. I can be myself, and she makes me happy. She's beautiful, the best girl I've ever known, and I know she's the one for me. She just… no words can explain. I love her."_

_Troy brought his knees up to his body and felt tears spring into his eyes. He was choked, but wasn't going to let it show. Even though his heart was slowly breaking._

_"Why?" Jake asked curiously, seeing the pain in his brother's eyes._

_Troy ran a hand through his caramel locks. "That's how I feel with Brie.", Troy mumbled quietly, but Jake heard._

_Jake's eyes narrowed. "I don't see the problem."_

_Troy let out an exasperated breath. "Jake. That's how I used to feel with Gabriella."_

_Jake felt his eyes pop out his sockets, and he had no idea how to react. Since he had been introduced to Gabriella, he had taken her under his wing and she had been like a sister to him. To hear this, from his brother whom he thought loved Gabriella whole heartedly, was a shock._

_"Troy…"_

_He shook his head. "Jake, you have no idea how this hurts. Now, every time I'm with her, I know I'm doing wrong. I'm still leading her to believe I love her, when only a small part of me does. I used to love Gabriella with all my heart, and I cannot figure out when it changed. But it has. I'm in love with someone else."_

_Troy lifted his head to meet his brothers gaze, and a single tear released from his eyelid. He felt his brother move around him and pat him solidly on the back, a brotherly gesture._

_"You need to tell her Troy." Jake said, matter-of-factly._

_Troy wiped the tears away with the pads of his thumbs. "I know, but it'll break her. She'll never forgive me. She'll hate herself, keep blaming herself when I'm the one to blame. I just… I want her to be happy. And she's told me I make her happy. But I want to be happy myself. And knowing I'm living a lie doesn't do that."_

_"Listen Troy,' Jake made Troy focus. 'What is better? Her thinking you're still in love with her when you're really not. And then when she finds out by herself, she beating herself up about it because you didn't tell her. Or you telling her, and she might respect you for being honest. Okay, she'll still get hurt. But isn't it better she knows the truth?"_

_Troy hated it when his brother was right._

_"I get what you're saying." Troy whispered._

_He felt Jake move from his position on the ground and soon his was standing tall over him. "Tell her Troy. She deserves to know."_

_And then his brother left him._

Troy faked a yawn, and he pretended to let his eyes flutter open. When his eyes were fully open, he found her staring at him, still sitting by the window. Gathering up the covers, he saw her turn away, to stare back at the window. Getting himself to his feet, he shuffled over to her, landing on the ground behind her, taking her in his arms gently.

"Why'd you leave the bed. I was cold."

He nibbled her ear gently as she answered. "Sorry, I couldn't sleep."

"It's okay." He kissed his way down her neck, reaching her collar bone, where he sucked her skin, After successfully leaving a purple mark, he trailer his lips back to her ear, before whispering, "Last night was… amazing."

He heard her sweet giggle. "It sure was."

He felt her scuttle closer to him, now sitting on his lap, burying her head into his chest, feeling his heart beat against her ear. She shivered.

"Are you cold?"

She nodded her head against his toned skin.

"Okay stand up."

Troy lifted her swiftly off the ground, letting her land on her feet. His fingers went to the corners of the sheet she was wearing and she lifted up her arms. The sheet fell gracefully to the ground, her naked form shining with the sweat of last night. God, she looked amazing. Why he couldn't love her, he didn't know. She let her arms drop, and she knew his eyes were lingering on her.

"Troy, this isn't helping." She added sarcastically.

He moved forward, taking her in his arms, his hands flowing down her body over every curve. Once they settled on her thighs, he lifted her up, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist, still covered in sheet. His fingertips drew invisible circles on the toned skin of her legs, while her lips lingered softly over her jaw. Her arms wrapped around his neck, bringing her closer, and Troy could feel their chests pressed closely together.

Finally, he took his sheet off him, and let his hands go off her body, although she kept herself up on him. Taking the sheet he wrapped it over each of their bodies. They became glued to one another. Sweat from both their bodies acted as friction to their forms, and they knew they would stay like that to morning. He let her lips grace over his body, even thought it was doing him no good.

Slowly, he backed them over to the bed. Lying them down, he wrapped one arm around her, and they went into the sleeping position. Gabriella's fingers slid over his lips.

"I love you." She muttered.

He gulped, before smiling. "I love you too."

And he felt a sharp pain in his chest.


	2. Broken

_Thanks guys for all the amazing reviews I got from the first part. You were so awesome I'm trying to update really quickly. A lot of you wanted something to happen in this, but when I was brainstorming, I didn't wanna put that in. Keep reading and you'll find out soon. I might even write a three-shot sequel - who knows! Anyways, thanks again and here's part 2..._

**Love And Let Go.**

**Part 2 - Broken.**

"And now, in this section of your Biology course we will be studying enzymes…"

Gabriella knew she should be listening, but her mind was somewhere else. She wasn't bothered that much that she was sitting in her favourite class and not bothering to listen. When something else is on her mind, she just blanks out, and doesn't come back to earth unless she's gotten to the end of the problem. And the problem she was in right now, she just couldn't understand.

Troy.

Troy Bolton.

The love of her life, the charming blue eyed boy that had captured her heart from the moment she'd met him. A smile sprang onto her face at even the thought of him. They'd been together for 2 solid, lovely years. And she knew that if anything were to happen, she'd be broken. Utterly broken. And that's why she knew something was wrong.

Her pen absentmindedly ran over the lines in her jotter, doodling and squiggling away, while her brain broke out into trains of thought. He'd came over; she'd cooked dinner; they'd watched a movie; then talked; then slept together. Nothing had gone wrong, it had been perfect. But he wasn't completely there. She could tell, but being Gabriella, she'd gone on like nothing was the matter. When the time was right he'd tell her. They'd never had secrets, but she knew there was something he was keeping from her. And that made her squirm with suspicion.

She'd watched him last night, his eyes completely clouded. If there was one thing to know about Troy it was that you could tell how he felt by looking into those bright blue orbs. When he was happy, they sparkled; when he was sad, pain inhabited them; when he was hyper and full of energy, the shone like the sun, brighter than ever; and when he wanted something that spark of need, want, and slyness was noticeable. But last night, she'd seen nothing. Absolutely nothing. They were empty, and that scared her.

The bell suddenly rang bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Miss Montez, can I have a word?" Her biology teacher asked.

The others of the class rushed out the door, her friends eyeing her in weird ways as if to ask 'what have you done?'. She just shrugged and made her way to the teachers desk.

"Miss Montez, did you take any of the notes from today?"

Gabriella flushed, instantly wishing she'd listened. "No, Ms Blackmore."

Miss Blackmore, a friendly woman in her early thirties, with bright green eyes and straight blonde hair which trailed down her back, looked up at Gabriella, a worried expression taking over her face.

"And why was that exactly?" Miss Blackmore urged.

Gabriella sighed. "I'm just not with it today, Ms Blackmore. Other things on my mind."

Miss Blackmore nodded, "Well Gabriella, I'll let it go this time, but tomorrow, please come back with more concentration. I wouldn't want my best pupil to start getting her grades to fall."

Gabriella smiled. "Thanks Miss Blackmore."

And she scurried out the classroom.

Troy banged his head on the side of Gabriella's locker to an unfamiliar beat. He'd been waiting here for the last five minutes, and was starting to worry where she had got to. It didn't help that he felt sick with nerves.

It was lunchtime, and usually Gabriella was running out of the classroom, hunger eating away at her. But Troy wasn't hungry at all. Just deadly nervous. For today was the day. The day for the truth to come out. The day he would hurt Gabriella.

He checked his watch quickly, before his eyes sprang up again when he heard those footsteps. The footsteps he wanted to fall in synch with. The ones he wanted for himself. The ones belonging to Heidi Sparrow. His eyes flowed up her body, taking in every inch. Her firm legs, toned stomach, long blonde hair and large hazel eyes. She caught him staring and smiled with a wave. He smiled back, just as Gabriella rounded the corner.

She looked deep in concentration, like she was trying to figure out a huge maths problem. He watched her walk at a slow pace, her books clutched against her chest, her eyes to the ground, her brow her wrinkled. He saw her nearly bang into a guy in the year above, but walked on without apologising. Yep, something was up.

She got to her locker, still thinking about whatever was on her mind, and opened it without even realising he was there. She bent down, put her books away, then stood back up, jumping back when she saw his figure.

"Troy, you scared me."

Her hand was on her heart, the very thing he was going to break.

He chuckled, falsely. "Sorry. Listen, can I… uh… talk to you? Privately?"

Gabriella's mind went into overload. This was it. What he'd been thinking about yesterday, and he was going to tell her. She looked into his eyes and saw the pain settle in them. This wasn't good.

She coughed, rubbing her hands together. "Eh, yeah sure."

Troy nodded sadly. "Great, okay."

He reached for her hand, and she looked at it doubtfully. Her fingers ached for his touch. She reached over and grabbed his hand, and felt him squeeze it gently. They stood there for a few minutes, her staring at the intertwined hands and him staring sadly down at her. She lifted her head up, and smiled a watery smile at him. He lead the way, and she knew exactly where they were going.

Minutes later they had arrived at the secret rooftop garden where they had gone almost every day since being together. Troy felt telling her up here would be wrong, but it had always been such a peaceful place, he hoped it would soften the blow. He led her around to the bench, waiting for her to sit down and their hands dropped from each other. She crossed her legs on the bench and he sat down next to her.

It was a while before either of them talked. Deep down Gabriella knew this was it. They were ending, but she wouldn't admit it. Troy played with his hands, while he waited for the right moment. In his head, his brothers words were swimming…

_"You need to tell her Troy."_

_"Isn't it better she knows the truth?"_

_"Tell her Troy. She deserves to know."_

Suddenly, he swung his body round to face hers, and her head shot up. Here it comes, she thought. Troy took her hand, and Gabriella felt a tear spring to her eye. He rubbed her knuckles gently.

"God, why is this so hard." He muttered so quietly, but Gabriella still heard.

Her other hand moved to his jaw, and lifted his face up to meet hers. "Just tell me Troy."

He sighed, her hand moving back to her lap. He breathed in and out, gaining his thoughts, before looking up at her completely.

"Okay, here it goes. Gabriella, the time we have spent together has been amazing. I've loved every minute of it, and I've loved you. But, over the past few months I've realised that, and it hurts so bad to say this… but I don't love you as much as I used to."

He waited as he watched her break down in front of him, tears falling down her face. She was breaking up in front of him, and it was all his fault. The pain in his heart was close to unbearable.

"Please,' He continued, 'please, don't cry. This isn't your fault. It's completely mine. I hate myself for feeling this way. I was convinced we were together forever. And don't get me wrong, I still love you. Just not as much as someone else. It breaks my heart to see you like this. I didn't want this to happen, believe me. Don't blame yourself."

She pulled her hand away, and let herself weep. He watched her drown her sorrows, with no help from him. He tried not to look at her, the pain too much for him to take. He'd never wanted to hurt her. Never. But he just had, and it hurt him too.

"Who is she?" Gabriella managed to choke out.

He closed his eyes, knowing that hearing who it was would be just as painful as knowing the truth. Part of him didn't want to tell her, but she wanted to know. It was the least he could do.

"Heidi Sparrow."

Gabriella nodded, the tears which hung onto her skin spraying in all directions. Her hands moved to her stomach, gripping the flesh, like the pain was tearing away at her body. "Heidi… she's nice."

Troy lifted his gaze to her weeping form and almost wanting to laugh at her cuteness. Gabriella was the only person he knew who could be nice to the person who has made the person she loves not love her anymore. That was Gabriella. Always nice, good mannered and generous. He hated himself for not loving her anymore.

Troy nodded at her comment. "I know." He whispered.

Gabriella laughed ironically. "That's probably why it hurts to bad." She choked out more tears, her t-shirt becoming soaked with the liquid. His eyes pressed together tightly at her words. He could almost feel his heart breaking. This was wrong, he was hurting her so he could be happy. And he now felt so selfish.

He grabbed her hand softly. "I'm so, so sorry Gabriella. I really never meant to hurt you. I just wanted you to know the truth."

She felt him guide her hand to his lips as he pressed small pecks over all her knuckles. He was trying to kill the pain, but knowing she would never feel his touch again and this would be the last time only made the pain worse. He felt her cup his and her hand and lead his hand back to his lap, where she patted it softly. She then lifted her fragile body into the air and he watched her walk away, going down the stairs, still crying and her shoulders stumped.

He ran his hand through his hair and felt the tears he'd bee trying to hold in escape.

He'd just broken Gabriella's heart, which was the last thing on Earth he'd wanted to do.


	3. All That Matters

_The third and final part. I'm still not sure about having a seqel, just depends on how this turns out and what you think of it. Anyways, you might not like the way this turns out, or you might? I really don't know. In all the reviews there was mixed feelings on what should happen, so yeah. This is the way it goes. Read away, and please enjoy…_

**Love And Let Go.**

**Part 3 - All That Matters.**

_Gabriella felt a smile appear on her face as soon as she walked through the back gate to Troy's large garden. It was full of people, the area swarming with the faces of her high school friends. A few waved at her, some smiled, but all she cared for were two bright blue eyes. She continued searching._

_In the middle was the pool. Troy didn't brag, but between them his parents were quite wealthy. Hence the largest house in the street, equipt with pool and balconies. The light blue water splashed away as people jumped or dived inside. Over to the left, the benches were taken with people relaxing, and a few couples using for making out. The beat box was blaring, the food smelt delicious, and the drink, with alcohol was spreading. It seemed like her kind of party._

_Instead of finding those blue eyes she ached to see, she was drawn to the blonde who was waving at her. It was Sharpay._

_"Gabs! Over here!"_

_She walked over to her friend. Her long blonde hair was slightly curled, resting lightly over her shoulders and down her back. Her bikini, bright pink of course, was attached to her slim body, and she watched as her long term boyfriend Zeke wrapped his arms around her, giving her goose bumps all over her curves._

_Gabriella smiled at her while she approached. They gave each other a friendly hug, then pulled back. "Sharpay. How are you?"_

_She smiled, "Amazing. It feels so good to be out of school, don't you think?"_

_Gabriella couldn't agree more. She nodded quickly. "Definitely. I mean, I know I'm quite nerdy, but even I needed a break."_

_The girls giggled._

_"So, have you seen Troy yet?" Sharpay wondered, a sly smile creeping onto her face._

_Gabriella blushed at his name. "No, but he must be around here somewhere."_

_"You bet he is." Troy's husky voice trailed into her ear, making her jump. Suddenly Troy had his arms wrapped around her, carrying her bridal style, while Gabriella's mind kept ticking about where they were going. It finally registered._

_"Troy - Don't you dare!"_

_She could feel his smirk against her soft skin of her shoulder. She sighed as she felt his lips connect with her neck, kissing softly and gently up to her sensitive spot, before sucking. Gabriella could feel the mark already._

_"Don't I dare what?" His dark voice echoed through her brain._

_She grabbed his hands which were still holding her. "Dump me in the pool."_

_Troy was standing right at the edge, his toes dangling off, nearly dipping into the water. Gabriella loved to swim, so if she was dumped in there, she wouldn't be in danger of drowning. But she still would rather not go in._

_"Oh sorry! You want me to dump you in the pool?!"_

_She felt his arms extend. "NO!" She shrieked, and she heard Troy's throaty chuckle come from his throat. Everybody's eyes were on them now, but Gabriella didn't care. As long as she got away dry, she'd be fine._

_She started to whimper as she felt herself falling from his grasp, and he was doing nothing to stop her. She clung rapidly onto his hands, and she could feel herself falling._

_"Troy. I mean it!"_

_Suddenly, she was spun around and was now dangerously close to his face. Even thought she was deadly close to the water, she let out a breath of relief. She felt his arms pull her in tighter, the buzz from the people around starting up again as they were no longer interested if she wasn't going in the pool. She nuzzled her face into his chest, and she felt him kiss her forehead._

_"That was mean, Troy." She kissed his bare chest, running her fingers up and down. She feet were firmly on the ground now, and for that she was thankful._

_His pulled her face closer to his and kissed her lips passionately. "I'm sorry."_

_She giggled as she hit his chest. "No you're not. That to you was fun!"_

_He brushed one of her curls away from her face, taking it between his fingers, which were rough from the many hours of basketball, and swept it behind her ear. "But hey,' He tried to reason, 'You didn't get put in the water, so you win."_

_She kissed his jaw. "And for that I am forever thankful."_

_They laughed together once more before their lips locked again._

**Forever.**

What a word.

The definition: _without ever ending; always; eternally._

She thought Troy and her were forever, but evidently, Troy thought otherwise. She felt the tears pour down her face, but they were now mixed with the teardrops of rain falling from the clouds above. The rain had always seemed to bring her peace, happiness and comfort. But maybe the pain she was suffering was too strong? Whatever it was, the rain was doing nothing for her.

Her legs were stiff from sitting cross legged for so long, the aching pain adding to her other pain. The rain had her drenched from head to toe. Her hair stuck to her head and shoulders, her clothes attached to her skin so you could make out every line of her body, and she could feel the wetness seep down to her toes. She'd be ill, but she didn't really care. The only drug that would help her get better was the one she couldn't have: Troy.

Her heart was aching so much she had to keep her hands on her body. She was so scared that her flesh would rip in two with the pain, even thought she knew that wouldn't happen. She knew now that any pain she'd ever been in before had been worthless, and that the pain she was going through now hurt a hundred times worse than the other times. Maybe that was because everything had been perfect before? Maybe it was because she'd spent millions of minutes of her life with the person who'd hurt her so bad? Or maybe it was the fact that she would never feel his touch, see his loving gaze or touch his lips again? Whatever it was it hurt. Badly.

She must have sat here for more than a couple of hours. Just sitting, thinking of the pain she was going through as trying to rid herself of it. But there was nothing she could do.

Thinking about him was hard too. Even the happy memories were beginning to hurt. And that was bad. If she couldn't be with him, she wanted the memories to hold onto. She had never realised it so much. But now that he was gone, she wanted him so much more than she did when she had him. And when she had him, she'd wanted him every minute of the day. She was addicted. Addicted to Troy Bolton.

She lifted herself to her feet, and watched them as they paced slowly forward in the direction of her house. In a few minutes she was standing outside her door, watching her fingers put the key in the lock and the door swung open. She was doing all these things, yet she didn't even feel like she was doing them. She was numb. Numb with pain.

"Oh honey!"

Her mother rushed at her, engulfing her in a tight warm hug. She stood limply. Her mother pulled back, and saw her empty, cried out eyes.

"Gabriella. What happened?"

And instantly she broke down. The tears were pouring again, down her face like they had in front of Troy. It hurt too much. Somehow her legs found energy and bolted up the stairs. Out of her mothers way, and away from the world. She locked her bedroom door, and fell onto her bed, her soaking clothes clinging onto the sheets.

As for everything, she'd explain in the morning.

**One Week Later.**

"Honey, you need to eat something." She mothers hushed voice went in one ear and out the other. She pushed her plate to the other side, and she mother sighed irritated. She watched as her mothers' fingers ran through her hair, and they caught eyes. Her mothers were deep with worry, and anger?

"Gabriella! Snap out of this! It has been a week for Gods sake. Now, I know he meant a lot to you, but you're life means more to me. You've not eat properly in days, you cant sleep because you have nightmares and you're slipping in school. I tell you Gabriella, quit this act. I know you're hurting but move on Gabriella. That's the only way it can go."

Gabriella's eyes stared at her mothers. She was shocked by her mothers' out burst. She'd never seen her mother blow up before. And because of her ex boyfriend - that just made it more confusing. She felt a single tear drip down her cheek and her mother rushed to her side.

Her mothers' arms wrapped around her, pulling her tightly. She choked out the tears. "Mum, it hurts so bad. I never knew it would hurt so much. I miss him, and I see him every day, but talking and thinking and seeing him only makes the pain worse. I want to move on, but he's locked in my heart Mum. And knowing he doesn't love me, just… it's so painful."

Her tears dripped down her face rapidly. Her mother shushed her with calming words and within a few minutes she was calm enough to hear her mother speak.

"Honey. Boys will hurt you, but I'll always be here to save the day." Her mother chuckled and Gabriella gave her a small teary smile. "You are special Gabriella, and you love Troy. He loved you. God, you could see it vividly in his eyes. But things change Gabi, people change, and Troy has. Nothing lasts forever Gabi, you have to accept that. And you know what? Troy was good to you, because he told you the truth, and it must have hurt him too. You think you're the only one who's hurting, think again. Every time he sees you crying and knows its him who's done that to you? How much has that got to hurt! You have to move on, not only so you can start living again, but so he can too. Hey. If you love someone, you'll let him go. Huh?"

Gabriella looked up at her mother, the one with the wisest words, and they shared a smile. She knew her mother, as always, was right.

The next day, Monday morning at break, she walked up to Troy. The pain in her chest was unbearable, looking at him even hurt, but this was something she needed to do. For him.

"Troy, can I talk to you?"

Their eyes connected and Gabriella saw the pain in them. She wanted to reach up and hug him, but she couldn't. It would only make it harder in the long run.

"Sure."

Gabriella nodded and turned, trusting Troy was following her. He watched as she walked in front of him, the crowds of students heading out for break departing the halls, while they walked further into the school, up the stairs case and into a music classroom. Troy smiled; Gabriella's favourite place.

She dropped her bag beside the piano and ran her fingers over the keys the notes echoing through the walls. A smile appeared on her face as she closed her eyes at the cold keys touching her fingers, and she sank down into the piano stool.

She opened her eyes and saw Troy looking at her intently, sitting opposite her. Smiling, she sighed and prepared herself.

"God Troy, we've been through a lot haven't we?"

Troy chuckled slightly, his hand travelling up to his neck and scratching it in that way he did when she was embarrassed. "I guess you could say that."

"But you're not happy anymore." She mumbled almost silently, feeling her stomach lurch uncomfortably.

He played with his hands. "Gabriella. It not that I'm not happy. I just couldn't be in a relationship with someone I didn't love that much as someone else. It wouldn't be fair to you or… to me. And that makes me sound so selfish, but I just… I really didn't want to hurt you, Gabi."

She rested her hand gently onto his, and felt then un-tense. "I realise Troy. And now, all I want you to be is happy. That's all I ever wanted. And if Heidi can do that for you, so be it."

Her eyes were shining with tears, but she continued. "So, Troy, this is it. I free you, so to speak. Please, make sure your always happy."

She felt her hands move to her neck and unclasp the 'T' necklace he had given her. It dropped into her hands and she stared at it for a while, remembering all the times he had kissed it, touched it, and looked at it on her, and she smiled.

She held it out to him and he took it hesitantly. "If it would make you feel better you can keep it."

She shook her head. "We have to move on Troy, keeping it, wouldn't be good for me. Besides, I think it'll look very pretty around Heidi's neck." She lied.

She shook her head inside. She shouldn't say things like that about Heidi. It wasn't her fault Troy had fallen for her. She'd met and talked to Heidi before and she was a very nice person. She hoped they would be happy.

She grabbed her bag while she stood up, looking down at Troy. "Goodbye Troy."

He grabbed her wrist as she began to walk away. "Gabi! Thank you."

She turned to him, confused. "For what?"

"For giving me two amazing years with you."

She smiled a tearful smile as one tears sprang from her eyes. "You, Troy Bolton, are very welcome."

And she exited the room.

As she walked down the corridor she reflected on what she had just done, and she actually felt a weight being lifted from her shoulders. She realised she'd been feeling guilty about putting Troy in that position, but now she'd released him, she felt better.

Yes, she still loved him.

Yes, she still longed for him.

Yes, she still missed him.

And yes, she heart still ached.

But Troy was happy.

And that was all that mattered.

**A/N; Thank you all for reading. I hope that was satisfactory. Please review telling me what you thought, and even what you thought should have happened? I'd really like to know.**

**Again thanks for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed it!**

**:D**


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